What you mean to me
by Rose-Aki
Summary: When Ino accidentally tells Temari that Naruto had to save Shikamaru's life during the war, Temari's emotions get the best of her and she reveals something about her feelings for him that she wanted to keep a secret. Shikamaru/Temari


A/N: I didn't plan on writing another Naruto story so soon, but I had this spontaneous idea. I hope you like it :)

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It was the first time the girls all met up after the war and Temari couldn't help but be excited for it. Before she had met them she never had any female friends, so she was glad that she had finally found a few good ones in Konoha. It had been Ino's idea to meet up and when Temari arrived at Ino's house the rest of the girls were already waiting for her.

"It's good to see you again." Sakura greeted her when she opened the door.

"Likewise." Temari smiled at her.

If Temari was honest with herself Konoha had become a second home to her, especially because a certain lazy shinobi and her friends lived here. For her role as ambassador between Suna and Konoha she had to travel a lot between the two countries anyway and since Shikamaru and her had started dating she was even more here than before. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Temari turned to the rest of the girls who were already sitting on the couch.

"I'm glad we're all able to be here together." Hinata said thoughtfully after a while.

They had lost so many people who they were close to and they were all aware that things had changed. Temari had been so relieved when she had seen her brothers for the first time after the war. That they were both alright had almost made her cry in happiness, but she knew that Ino hadn't been that lucky. When Temari had heard what had happened to Inoichi and Shikaku she had felt sorry for her friends. While she had never met Inoichi, she knew how close Ino had been to her father. The Suna kunoichi had met Shikaku on a few occasions and had seen what toll it had taken on Shikamaru. She had tried to be there for him during that time and had met up with Into a couple of times, but she knew that the pain was still fresh on both of their minds.

Looking at Hinata it was obvious that she was still saddened by what happened to Neji and Tenten next to her wasn't back to her carefree either. The young Hyuga was right, they should be thankful that they were at least able to be all here together after such a terrible war. As if reading her thoughts Sakura voiced what Temari had just been thinking about.

"We lost so many friends."

"At least we were able to save a lot of them. I don't want to imagine what might have happened if Naruto hadn't saved Shikamaru. I don't want to think about what I would have done if he hadn't made it out alive after my dad already didn't." Ino said with a sad expression.

"What do you mean?" Temari asked.

"Almost all of Shikamaru's chakra was absorbed, but Naruto and Sakura were able to save him in the last second." The blond kunoichi explained.

"I have to go." Temari announced suddenly and stood up before leaving Ino's house in a hurry.

"Good job, Ino pig." Sakura shook her head in disbelief.

"I was sure that she already knew about it." Ino tried to explain herself.

"Maybe he didn't tell her because he knew she would be worried." Hinata mused out loud.

"Well, now she is definitely worried." Tenten added.

Meanwhile Temari entered Shikamaru's house through the window without a second thought. He had given her a key since they had started dating, because she always lived with him when she was in Konoha anyway. However now she was way too angry to care for such small details like how she entered his house.

The lazy shinobi was laying on a couch and didn't even look the slightest bit surprised by her forceful entrance.

"You have a troublesome way of entering." Was the only comment he gave her before yawning.

At his bored tone Temari's anger only rose. How could he be so relaxed when almost three months ago he had come so close to losing his life? Storming over to him she pulled him off of the couch so he now stood in front of her. To his credit he only raised an eyebrow at her in question.

"You're an idiot."

"Says the woman who is dating me." Shikamaru replied dryly.

"You're right maybe I shouldn't be dating you if you don't even trust me enough to tell me that Naruto had to save your life during the war."

At that Shikamaru's eyes widened and Temari could almost see how realization dawned on him.

"Look, it sounds worse than it was and it came something good of it. In that moment I realized that I want to be Naruto's adviser when he becomes Hokage. You know, he needs someone to help him see the political side of his decisions and not only the emotional one."

"That is all you have to say to this?"

"Temari listen-" Shikamaru tried his best to sound calm, unknowingly making the situation even worse.

"No, you listen to me." She gripped his west tightly and released all the emotions she was feeling since Ino had told her about the situation.

"Do you even realize what you're saying? Naruto had to save your life. You almost didn't make it out alive." She was barely aware that she was screaming now, but she didn't care. Her grip on his west tightened even more when she continued. "You know what that means for me? I almost lost the person I love."

Her loud voice was followed by silence. Only now Temari realized that she had just confessed how deep her feelings for the lazy shinobi in front of her really ran. The implication of her words was clear. Sure, they were already dating for two months, but none of them had said the three important words until today. It wasn't that her words were untrue, but she hadn't meant to tell him her feelings just yet. She had been the one to initiate their relationship in the first place, so she had sworn to herself that Shikamaru should be the one who told her that he loved her first.

Taking a step back from him, she released her hold on his west. He looked just as shocked as she was feeling and Temari took that as a sign that her confession had been too much for him. Ino had once told her that Shikamaru wanted a simple life and a regular woman. The Suna kunoichi knew that she was anything but that, so maybe he didn't feel that way about her and didn't plan a future with her. She had to get away before he would reject her. After everything that she had heard today, she just couldn't bear this.

When she was about to turn around and leave, a gentle hand on her arm stopped her.

"Aren't you going to wait for what I have to say?"

"I already know what you want to say. I'm not the woman you imagined to be with when you were younger. You thought I was troublesome from the beginning and I'm sure you didn't change your opinion about that since dating me."

"You're indeed very troublesome." At that Temari felt her heart squeeze painfully. This was the rejection she had feared, he had finally realized that she was too troublesome for him. However his next words surprised her. "I think I never told you about the Nara curse, did I?"

Now Temari was rather confused. How did him rejecting her turn into a story about a curse his clan had to bear? Before she could ask him what this was supposed to be about he continued.

"The men of the Nara clan have a tendency to choose the most troublesome woman to love and I'm no exception."

"You-" That was all Temari could get out. Was he really implying what she thought he was?

"As troublesome as it is, yes."

His confession was an indirect one just like hers had been, but that was more than enough for Temari. Smiling softly she let him pull her into his arms. This day had been very emotional for her, but being in Shikamaru's arms, she couldn't help but think that everything had turned out well in the end. When she looked up at him and their lips met in a loving kiss, she was finally sure that she meant as much to him as he meant to her.

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A/N: Please review and tell me what you think :)


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